


The Next Chapter of the Story

by Dragon_Princess



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Babies, Bets & Wagers, Canon Compliant, Descendants 3 Spoilers, Everyone is going to show up at some point probably, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Light Swearing, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Post-Canon, Post-Descendants 3, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-07-31 07:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20111335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Princess/pseuds/Dragon_Princess
Summary: "I give them a year.""From the wedding or right now? Because I was gonna say six months after the wedding.""Oh, good point. I'll go from seven months to a year after, then. If we're making it a bet."or, Mal and Ben and their adventures in parenthood, from a half-serious bet onward.





	1. The Bet

It was Ben's birthday and because he was the king, there was a big party, even though his birthday wasn't a milestone one.

Ben was off greeting everyone, just like a good royal and Mal was with him, of course.

Evie was off with Doug, practicing her new skill of sign language with Doug's father and his little sister Diana who was hard of hearing. Dizzy and Celia had tagged along, as Diana was the grade below them and they were interested in making a new friend.

Jay was chatting with Gil and Lonnie and they were all gesturing wildly, probably talking fighting strategies or something. The boys had taken time off their adventuring to celebrate with Ben.

Jane and Chad were with their families and Audrey.

And thusly, Harry and Uma were sitting alone. That was okay though, after this party wrapped up, they were all headed back to Evie's place for a proper party full of shenanigans and greasy pizza and staying up way too late.

Harry was looking towards Ben and Mal and took a sip of his drink and before he set it down, he said "How long do ye think it'll be?"

"For what?" Uma asked, swiping a bit of chocolate frosting off Harry's slice of cake with her fork.

He nodded towards the Ben and Mal. "Before those two announce they're havin' a baby."

Uma snicked. "I give them a year."

"From the wedding or right now?" Harry asked. "Because I was gonna say six months after the wedding."

"Oh, good point." she said. "I'll go from seven months to a year after, then. If we're making it a bet."

He turned to look at her, a smirk on his face. "Ah, ye wanna make this serious?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Of course,"

"Well in that case, if I win, you have to go on a date with me."

Uma almost choked. "What?"

He smirked again. "If I win, you have to let me take you on a real date. Full Auradon style."

Uma rolled her eyes. He was impossible, really. She'd been on what she'd call a date with him once. She didn't much enjoy dates, she felt they were a little too old fashioned and had told him so. He backed off. But really, he was impossible. "Fine, but if I win you have to do whatever I say for a full 24 hours. No whining allowed."

He sighed but held out his hand. "It's a bet?"

She clasped his hand against his and shook it. "It's a bet."

* * *

  
Later that night, late enough that Dizzy and Celia had crashed hard and everyone was a little sleepy and slap-happy, Ben tugged Mal against him by the waist a little more forcefully than Hatry and Uma had ever seen.

Mal flushed a light pink and stretched up to kiss him. There was a certain passion to that kiss, however brief.

Harry nudged Uma in the arm and whispered, "That date is in the bag."


	2. The Worry

It had been three months since Ben and Mal had gotten married, and a few weeks since they returned from their honeymoon.

Their honeymoon had consisted of visiting a few places in Auradon Mal had never seen, but they spent a majority of their time on Motunui, which was a quiet island ruled over by Chieftess Moana. They had loved visiting and the people were excited to welcome them, and they were very kind as well.   
After that, they returned home for a few weeks , where they had some practice in running the country together officially, which caused a few headaches and tense emotions for a little while, but they figured it out quickly and now they were back to being ‘nauseating’ in their happiness, according to Uma. Ben had to back off a little more and Mal was being unnecessarily anxious, but everything was fine.

  
And now, they were traveling again, this time for diplomatic reasons. They were visiting different kingdoms, meeting with the leaders and the people, visiting schools, doing interviews, the whole bit.

  
Mal was very much enjoying it. She liked seeing the country and her people, as weird as that sounded, and talking to them. She wanted to help them and she would do everything she could to make their lives better. Ben was on the same page, of course. And they made an excellent team.

  
Mal and Ben had made a stop at Bald Mountain, one of the least well-off places in all of Auradon. It was not as bad as the Isle had been, but it was no majestic kingdom. Their visit was to the town’s school, all the school aged children shared one building. There weren’t all that many children, so it worked space wise. Each grade had one classroom for the most part. There was a cafeteria and a small library and that was about it. The school was in serious need of renovation, however.

  
Ben and Mal's visit took the form of an assembly. One child from each grade got to ask Ben and Mal a question, which was voted on by all the students in that particular grade level. Some of the questions, especially from the younger children, were cute and funny like ‘What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?’ and ‘Do you have any pets?’, but many of the questions were deep and insightful such as, ‘What are your plans to make Auradon a better place?’ and ‘Where will all the people from the Isle go now?’. It was impressive and enjoyable.

  
They then spent the next day visiting each classroom one by one, giving hugs and high-fives and receiving hand-drawn pictures. They talked to the students, and the teachers alike. They were all so wonderful and hard-working and they deserved much better than what they had.

  
Mal got into the limo after their visit with a bright smile on her face that wouldn’t leave. She adored those kids.

  
She also had a weird feeling in her stomach. North of nauseous, but not really. She didn’t mention it to Ben.

  
During the ride back to their castle, Ben and Mal discussed the logistics of getting a new school built, or at least getting the old one renovated. They made a list of everything the community needed. A playground and a computer lab were at the top of the list. They were going to get that for them, they would make it happen.   
Mal forgot about her stomach acting up, until they arrived back home.

  
The car ride had taken many hours, and they got home quite late. After greeting Adam and Belle, Mal and Ben headed upstairs to put their bags down, but Mal didn’t quite make it. She took a detour to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaving a very nervous Ben on the other side.   
In the years he had known Mal, he had never seen her sick. Not like this. He wasn’t sure whether to go in after her or leave her be. He settled on standing anxiously outside the door. No one liked to be watched while they got sick.

  
Eventually the door opened, and Mal was standing before him, both pale and flushed, and shaking.

  
Ben immediately wrapped her in a hug and helped her to bed so she could lay down. She was asleep in minutes. Ben pulled a blanket over her and kissed her forehead before starting to unpack as quietly as he could. He didn’t want to leave her.

  
He was worried about her. He hoped whatever this was was a short, simple little stomach bug or some mild illness she had contracted from traveling. He wasn’t sure what he’d do with himself if she was seriously ill. It broke his heart enough to see her as she was.

  
She was still fast asleep when he climbed into bed about an hour later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize it seems like not a lot is happening right now, but this is just the set up. Also, this fic is going to stay pretty easy and light hearted. Thanks for reading!


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